With the Texas Rangers nearly halfway through the season, Leody Taveras’ offensive struggles do not seem to be going away anytime soon, and it may be time for the team to seriously consider moving on from the outfielder.
Last season, the Rangers produced one of the most proficient lineups in the MLB. They were near the top of the league in several offensive categories. Due to the Rangers’ dominant offense, some players’ underwhelming offensive performance went unnoticed because the rest of the team made up for it.
However, this year is much different with the Rangers lineup struggling mightily to generate runs thanks to injuries and poor performances. The team is currently near the bottom of the league in several different categories, which has put them in a bad position. Due to the Rangers’ disappointing offensive performance, players who do not perform well at the plate are getting more attention, with Taveras in particular getting a lot of the blame for what’s happened.
Although Taveras has always been somewhat of a peaks and valleys hitter, he appears to be having a significantly tougher time getting on base so far this season than he’s had previously. Taveras is currently batting an astoundingly low .211, which is good for 139th out of 151 qualified players, and is also significantly lower than his .266 mark in 2023.
While the Rangers never expected much out of Taveras on the offensive side of things, he has recently become a liability due to his inability to get on base and generate runs. He currently only has 12 RBI, which is an astonishingly low number, especially for an everyday player, and exemplifies how far Taveras has fallen offensively.
It unfortunately appears that Taveras is nowhere near close to turning things around as he has only managed to get one base twice in the past eight games.
While Taveras still remains an exceptional center fielder, arguably one of the best defensive outfielders in the game, it appears it is time for the Rangers’ front office to seriously consider trading Taveras to anothe squad in need of defense for anything that might help Texas in 2024.
It could be somewhat difficult to find a suitor for Taveras due to how poorly he has performed at the plate so far this season, but the right team with the proper defensive need could be out there. Texas is in desperate need of finding a way to rejuvenate their currently underperforming offense.
